A round-up of stories relating to Manchester United over the past 24 hours.
Manchester United welcome back midfielder Darren Fletcher into their squad for Saturday’s game against Wigan following a ten-month lay-off due to a bowel condition. Fletcher played the full 90 minutes in a friendly match for a Manchester United XI’s side and could see a return to first-team action this weekend although manager Sir Alex Ferguson described the move to call him into the squad simply ‘as a great boost’ with the implication that he is unlikely to play.
Shinji Kagawa and Robin Van Persie have been ruled fit to face Wigan after picking up injuries on international duty. Wayne Rooney, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling all remain sidelined however.
In his press conference before tomorrow’s game, Sir Alex Ferguson called on the team to perform better defensively after conceding soft goals against Fulham and Southampton. United have scored six in the last two games but Ferguson determined that the defence must eliminate slack errors in order to not place so much onus on the attack to score.
Speaking on Wigan boss Roberto Martinez, Sir Alex Ferguson complimented the Spaniard on the style of football he has got Wigan to play. And Ferguson believes playing three at the back is an ‘asset’ for Wigan’s style and suggested Wigan could be ‘a club on the rise’ with Martinez at the helm.
And Roberto Martinez fears midfielder Tom Cleverley will want to compensate for his performance in England’s draw with Ukraine by performing well against Wigan. Cleverley spent the 2010-11 season on loan at Wigan and Martinez was full of praise for Cleverley who he believes will not be flustered by his inability to finish for England on Tuesday.
Upon this week’s release of the findings of the Hillsborough Independent Panel, Sir Alex Ferguson hopes relations will improve between the clubs’ two sets of fans. Liverpool fans were absolved of blame this week through the disclosure of previously unseen documents and Ferguson has called for fans to end the frequent taunting between the fans of the two clubs.
Antonio Valencia has hit out at Ecuadorian baggage handlers who he claims stole his camera. The winger was on international duty with Ecuador and found upon his return that his camera was missing from its case, of which he posted a photo on Twitter.
In further extracts from his upcoming autobiography, Wayne Rooney describes instances of manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s ‘hairdryer’ treatment. Rooney even reveals that the team were given a stern dressing down by the manager on the final day of the 2006-07 season when they lost 1-0 to West Ham although they had already won the league title.
image: © apasciuto
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